Happiness

Anyone after a Java IDE one option to try is the Android Studio https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html Its free. Its a semi cut down version of Intellij IDEA (Easily the best coding tool / IDE around) that Google pays a lot of money to be freely available. Note Java is a dying language, Oracle is kind of slowly dropping support for it and in many areas where it was strong its now been superseded by other languages - especially Go (Golang), which is 50-100 times faster. Google is looking to move Android development over to Go (Golang) and out of Java, which will be the last major bastion of Java coding gone.

One of the most important points from that post is that the server used to run on Linux. Wonder why the decision was made at some point to use a windows only library and wonder if then there is a possibility to undo that change.

Shouldn't need any graphics card. Also running a server from home isn't advisable unless you have an amazingly stable connection with high upload. Key with dedicated servers is getting one direct from the owners of a Data Center and not via a middle man (or own it your self and rent rackspace, but that's a whole different issue) as the price difference is staggering. Getting one via middle man makes no sense now as they will often be more expensive than the good cloud hosters (e.g. AWS). While going to say OVH, Online.net is a lot cheaper. OVH especially run a gaming line which has great DDOS protection, essential if you want a fully public server as you will be DDOS'ed by kiddies, its available in their US and European DC's - https://www.ovh.co.uk/dedicated_servers/game/ Starts at £60 / 85 Euros a month after tax, for a server that could run a sizeable wurm server based on what Wurlander has said. Note you can get a similar server for less than half the cost IF you dont need the extreme DDOS protection i.e. you are going to password protect the server and don't annoy any kiddies.

I personally expect it around the 30 Euro / $ mark as that's the price point that the competing titles are at, while its worth more to people who know Wurm any higher will immediately dissuade others.

Anyone after a dedicated for WU Online.net (one of the biggest dedicated server providers in Europe) has some good special offer servers that are semi-perfect: https://www.online.net/en/dedicated-server/dedibox-limited-edition https://console.online.net/en/order/server_limited Note Online.net does have DDOS protection but its limited, so this would only be good as a server for people you trust. edit: Should say also remember 'cost' of the windows license on top, as the WU Server only works on Windows. (Can use the trial license for 6 months)

Another question and fairly obvious one - Can you password protect servers? Are there any other tools from stopping the riff raff from entering your own 'public' server?

Especially considering this is going to have 0 anti cheat mechanisms as such the admins will have ever more work to do than normal most likely. I honestly can't see public BIG WU servers being viable due to the amount of admin work its going to require to keep it working / stop being overrun by Russian kiddies.

It actually should be. Due to EU law companies that don't offer no condition refunds are in a legal grey area. They get around it by saying that you have installed it and activated the key, therefore you have purchased an entertainment license - which is not what that exception is meant to cover, it is meant to cover online streaming of movies/music. Games companies have been abusing the position, despite a lot of lobbying by various EU bodies to get them to change there stance and actually use the proper EU rules. Steam decided to go with its interpretation to make them be compliant, but instead of just rolling it out to EU customers they rolled it out to the whole world. All the other merchants should really do likewise, for at least the EU customers, as they are kind of breaking current online/distance selling regulations in the EU.

Windows server runs for 6 months in trial mode before you need a key. Thats an option that many people use to get round the price of Windows licensing for web servers. But really the server code should be moved to Linux given the cost savings involved, assuming its not using some weird native windows only libraries, but I cant see why server code ever should.

It is not. Steam is an enhanced Store Front now, its down to the publisher in regards to DRM. 1) Do you have to run Steam to install the game? Yes as its just a store front same as E.g. Desura or GOG. 2) Do you have to run Steam to play the game? No. As the DRM is down to the publisher, if you so wish you can just run the executable file in the games directory, for none DRM games (which there are quite a lot now). Seriously read up on what you are talking about as you are sounding a bit odd.

Yes, and has been the way now for a few years. Offline works perfectly now. Valve is by current estimates the biggest games company in the world. Its not going anywhere. Its also getting stronger and stronger every year, and is becoming a bit of a behemoth. Also DRM is solely done by the publisher e.g. all Paradox games on Steam have no DRM, as such there is no restrictions at all just all the benefits that Steam brings the only restrictions are at the discretion of the publisher. Slight aside but Steam DRM is also the least pervasive DRM available, which will be the DRM that WU uses as hardly anyone uses anything else now.

On this note is there any actually limit on map sizes (I know only ones provided at release at 2048, but someone will work out how to do custom)? But going on those figures a 32GB server should be easily able to handle Xanadu size, maybe even more, but if Xanadu is the largest map size possible then beyond 32GB would be pointless. (For those not in the know 32GB's servers at good hosts with basic DoS protection (minimal essential for large game servers) can be had for 20-30 Euros.)

Thought of a potential issue. Character names on Wurm Online are unique, but how are they going to be handled in Wurm Unlimited. I.e. can you choose any character name, but then what happens if your server is connected to a server where there is already someone using that name?

It is, you are forced to answer 'if you buy Wurm Unlimited, do you think you will continue to play Wurm Online?' It wont let you complete the poll if you don't already play the game i.e. its only getting a segment of the auidance yet its portraying that it is polling the whole community, when it is not. It either requires a change of the polls title or a change of the questions, as its loaded and biased as it currently stands.